What were the crisises of 1923?

Hyperinflation

What Happened

The German government did not have enough money to pay for the policy of positive resistence during the Occupation of the Ruhr. They lost a lot of money during the Occupation and needed to raise funds.

What the Government did

They simply printed more money. When a government prints money which it does not have the value of the money goes down. This had been happening since the time of the Kaiser but in 1923 it got much worse.

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The Occupation of the Ruhr

What Happened

Germany did not keep up wth its payments and the French were determined to make the Germans pay. In January 1923 French and Belgian troops marched into the Ruhr, Germany's most important industrial region and occupied it. This was legal under the Treaty of Versailles as they were seizing Germany's goods because they had not received their reparations payments.

What the Government did

The Weimar Republic responded with a policy of passive resistance which meant refusing to work. The workers went on strike so nothing was being produced so there was nothing for the French to take.

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Munich (Beer Hall) Putsch

What Happened

The German Chancellor Stresemann eventually gave in to the French over the Occupation of the Ruhr. This was seen as a betrayal to those who hated the Republic; particularly the gangs of right-wing extremists in existence. On 8-9 November Adolf Hitler's Nazi Party launched an attempted revolution in Munich. The Nazi's took over official buildings.

What the Government did

The police rounded up the Nazi's and in a breif exchange of shots 16 Nazi's were killed by the police. The rebellion broke up in chaos. Hitler escaped the scene and was later arrested.